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My Lords, I first thank the Minister for the opportunity to ask questions on this important Statement.
The situation in the Middle East continues to cause global instability, and families here in the UK are feeling the impact at the petrol pump and in the shops. We all have an interest in securing stability in the region, and we should all hope that ceasefires eventually lead to lasting peace.
In recent days, we have seen a significant increase in tensions following the Iranian regime’s use of ballistic missiles in an attack on Israel. I was grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Chapman of Darlington, for her confirmation that Israel has the right to defend itself. When Israel faces terrorist attacks from Hamas and Hezbollah, when the Iranian regime fires ballistic missiles at Israel, we must all, in my view, be united on Israel’s right to self-defence.
We must all recognise that Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, both internationally and, sadly, here in the UK. This House voted three times in the last Session to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation, and Ministers now tell us that this is something the Government are committed to and that it will happen as soon as Ministers can. Will the Minister update the House on the Government’s planned timescale for proscription?
Iran also continues to obstruct shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, and the regime has murdered its own citizens in droves and refuses to end its nuclear weapons programme. Can the Minister please take this opportunity to reassure the House that urgent work is ongoing with our US and EU partners to secure the safe passage of shipping through the strait, and can he say what work is being done to ensure that Iran eventually ends its nuclear programme? Noble Lords across the House, including on the Government Benches, will agree with us when we say that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon.
Turning to Gaza and the West Bank, my right honourable friend Dame Priti Patel was right when she said in the other place:
“We all want to see an end to violence and conflict in the West Bank and in Gaza ”.—[Official Report, Commons, 9/6/26; col. 164.]
There remain concerns about the delivery of aid which urgently need to be resolved, and we support all efforts to secure peace.
In that context, we know that Hamas must be disarmed and it must have no role in the future Government of Gaza or in the West Bank. Concerningly, however, Hamas is still a threat, and it is still powerful in Gaza. I would be grateful if the Minister gave the House a sense of the Government’s reaction to the news yesterday that the United States Agency for International Development has referred 101 current or former UNRWA staff members to the US State Department over their affiliation with Hamas, and in some cases, their involvement in the 7 October attacks themselves.
We believe that it would of course be preferable for the Lebanese Government to disarm Hezbollah. The questions my right honourable friend the shadow Foreign Secretary asked in the other place about the support the Government are giving to Lebanon went unanswered. Can the Minister say whether the Government have plans to go beyond the support we are already giving to the Lebanese armed forces, and to help them contribute to the disarmament and disbandment of Hezbollah?
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My Lords, given that we had the opportunity yesterday to discuss Lebanon, I will focus today on Iran, Palestine and Sudan. I agree with the noble Lord that we are feeling the impact of the US-Iranian war here in the UK. Some 102 days ago, we were called on by the Conservative Opposition to be “all in” with the Trump Administration on the Iran war. I warned that that would be a mistake, as the case had not been made and there was no clear means by which it would be ended. Now, we have ceasefires in which the firing has not ceased. There is no end to the war, and civilians are still paying the price.
The convulsion in the global trade and energy markets continues and there seems to be no immediate or medium-term respite for the communities affected by it, especially those with humanitarian needs. Yesterday I was at a briefing on the situation in Afghanistan, where we were told in very clear terms that ships with food supplies—vital nutritional supplies—for Afghan children had been held up because they were waiting to exit the Strait of Hormuz. Both the United States and Iran have not offered any respite to allow humanitarian relief through the Strait of Hormuz, so I would be grateful if the Minister made strong representations that there are humanitarian consequences to the closure of the strait.
President Trump seems to have crippled the civilian economy in Iran, actively harming the very people he said the US was on its way to help, and, at the same time, has given the homicidal regime in Tehran astonishing strategic advantage. Its proxies have noticed, and it is why people are still under the thumb of Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists after all this violence. Yesterday we heard from some in this House that there needs to be more violence to solve the situation, but as the former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid has said, “For the thousandth time”, violence without diplomacy is not sustainable, and I agree with him.
On the ongoing situation and tragedy in Gaza and Palestine, can the Minister confirm our Government’s assessment of the actions of the Board of Peace and any of the technical elements within it? We read reports that the Board of Peace currently has zero authorised funds available to it. Is that the Government’s assessment? Given the stasis and confusion of the Trump Administration regarding their intent for the Board of Peace, I remind the House that the Conservative Opposition said that we should be part of that too.
What is the current means by which humanitarian assistance is being provided within Gaza? I agree with the Foreign Secretary’s Statement: there is a considerable lack of action to deliver sufficient levels of humanitarian aid—it is not even anywhere close to where the 20-point plan said it would be. What is the Government’s assessment of the scale of the assistance being provided?
On the continuing violence in the West Bank, it is regrettable that there is still too high a level of impunity for those perpetuating violence there. I agree with the putting in place of additional sanctions, but there is too much impunity for not only settlers but those in the outposts. The outposts are prohibited under Israeli law, and there is lack of policing of the activity there. Will the Government ensure that anyone facilitating those who are sanctioned, either through financial or political support, will be brought within the sanctions regime and that that will apply to people in this country too?